HazelBark Patisserie is the brainchild of Alexander George and Leanne Rooney, who have spent the past nine months offering boutique high tea events across Melbourne.
Editors note: This venue is now closed.
A new patisserie has served up high tea for a cause. HazelBark Patisserie is the brainchild of Alexander George and Leanne Rooney, who have spent the past nine months offering boutique high tea events across Melbourne.
Each event comes with a special theme and according menu, with the most of the high teas run at the Blue Diamond cocktail and cigar lounge.
The High Tea Society attended their most recent event, which ran under the playful theme of “The Reinvention of Childhood Classics”, with considerable anticipation.
Tying in with the theme, Mr George and Ms Rooney donated all proceeds from the event to the Royal Children’s Hospital Good Friday Appeal.
Zooming up 15 floors to the Blue Diamond, I was greeted with a glass of sparkling on arrival and offered a Hazelbark Red Cordial Cocktail, which looks like your every-day glass of red cordial, but with a touch of floral gin, bitter Aperol and sweet Rose wine.
There was also eight tea varieties to choose from, and coffee for those caffeine-lovers.
The mood was chatty and light jazz music played in the background, while the sun streaming in through the windows gave high-tea goers a view of the city.
Leather couches and booths gave the event an intimate feel, but some white linen tablecloths could have been used to add a touch of class.
The high tea itself was served on a three-tier cake stand and, as promised, took me back to my childhood. It was, in a word, fun.
Apart from the lovely tasting pizza scrolls, party pies and sausage rolls, the desserts were a true delight.
Starting with the super-fresh peanut butter and jelly sponge, we then moved to the peppermint patty charlie brown, which tasted just like a fudgy mint slice.
The blueberry ghost drop – a blue cordial drink with a blueberry macaron suspended on a straw – was visually stunning and had the added benefit of being delicious.
But my hands-down favourite was the kinder surprise, which was served in a small glass and included a light custard, pop rocks and micro popcorn and was topped with a “toadstool” with meringue and a yummy chocolate filling.
My only regret is that this one-off menu won’t be repeated.
